Under The Barrel
by MatMont
Summary: This story follows 3 Titan pilots, members of an spec ops unit, tasked with covert ops with the intent of bringing the Frontier Militia to justice. What this justice might be, they will have to discover on their own.


It was a little cold and damp in the room he was standing. The lights were dim and he couldn't see more than a few steps in front of him. He was standing there for a while now, and his equipment was starting to feel heavy. He tossed his helmet back and forth between his hands, but soon enough his shaking hands couldn't catch it and it fell on the metal floor with a loud noise. He didn't miss a beat before caching it from the floor. He looked behind him and saw the one-way view mirror a few meters from the ground. He felt blood rushing to his face and turned around to face the wall again.

A loud beep sound echoed through the room. He almost jumped, his heart started to race, beating hard against his chest and ribs. Quickly, he opened the back of his helmet and put it on his head. It closed, covering his entire head. For a few seconds it was only darkness, and then with a flicker the screen of his helmet began showing the outside. Little by little other information on the sides of the screen started to appear. He could see his heartbeat, the energy of his suit and the status of his other equipment, but before he could assess all this information another, but louder beep echoed through the room. His hands started to shake more vigorously and things started to change around him. There was a bright flash of light; the helmet filtered the light so he didn't need to close his eyes.

The light faded and he could see that he was no more in that cold steel room. He was now in a simple undecorated room, there was no more a one-way mirror behind him. The only thing there was in that simple room, besides him, was a weapons rack. Rested in the rack was a single rifle. He recognized it immediately: it was the R-101C Carbine. After placing a hand around the grip and the other below the barrel his hands began to steady. It was for this that he worked so hard, countless hours of training under the elements, years of military training. He took a deep breath and a heard a voice coming from the speakers inside the helmet.

\- Cadet can you hear me? – The voice was of a man, it was a rough voice and made him think of a battle hardened veteran but he didn't know to whom it belonged.

\- Loud and clear sir!

\- That's great. – This time the voice was familiar, it was his instructor for the final part of his training, Steven Davis. An all-around nice guy, a bit harsh from time to time, especially if you didn't listen to what he was saying. – Zack, this is the final exam for you to be a Pilot. We will be measuring your performance, your reaction time, combat experience and knowledge and how well do you fare under pressure. It's everything clear or do you want to make a question before we begin?

\- I have one sir.

\- Ask away soldier.

\- Well… - This time he experienced a different type of anxiety, it was eagerness, an itching feeling. - Will I have to pilot a Titan?

\- Well, yes – His voice showed a kind of amusement to little soldier who asked the question. The answer made him almost jump in the air. – This is your exam to be a pilot, so of course you will have to pilot. We will tell you when it will be dropped on your location.

\- Yes sir!

The points of his fingers were possessed by a tingling sensation. He would finally be on a cockpit of a Titan, or at least the closest you could get before being a pilot. He was wanting for this day to come ever since he enlisted. Ever since he looked up and saw those amazing constructs, the peak of engineering and human technology. Those towering robots were stuff of dreams for him. He had fought very hard for this chance, and he was not letting it go. Not without a fight. His hands tighten around the grip and the barrel until his knuckles were white under his gloves. Another beep came, this time it was coming from the coms. He knew it was for getting ready to deploy. He synchronized his carbine and new information popped in the screen, his bullet count. He had thirty two bullets in the magazine, and ten more with him, totaling three hundred and twenty bullets with him. He started to check his equipment. Besides the carbine he had a standard military use pistol with him, with about six bullets in the magazine and five more magazines. His suit was prepared to sustain almost every environmental condition and protect him. With each passing second his rundown of the equipment became more fumbled with him looking up every other second to the door in front of him. With the rundown finished he was left with only himself and his anxiety crawling around under his skin growing with each passing minute. When he heard another beep of the coms he was almost shaking. The voice that came from the coms was Instructor Davis.

\- You okay kid?

\- Yes sir

\- You don't look so. Your heart rate is through the roof, and you're sweating enough standing there for the suits cleaning systems to start. – He could feel the rush of blood to his head focusing on his face, that had now acquired a shade of red. – Look, this is a closed channel between you and me. You need to calm down a little you'll be fine.

\- Ok… - He said in a shaky excuse for an answer. He heard a sigh coming from the other side. The next couple of seconds were filled with the sound of his own beating heart in his ears as he waited for the instructor to say something. When he finally spoke Zack was expecting scolding reminiscent of a few days ago in the boot camp, but he listed perplexed to his instructor to speak in a soft tone

"Let me trace you a parallel that is very fond to me. Did I tell you that I used to study theater? – He spoke without pauses on a rhythm almost hypnotizing - I dreamed of being a big star, reenacting the great masterpieces, selling out a big premiere. Well I want you to imagine the operation as a play. The OP location is the stage. You are the star of the play; you'll be acting with some of the best actors and actresses in the business. You with me?"

"Now it gets tricky: this is your debut in the big leagues. You came a long way, from a kid from some godforsaken town in the ass-crack of nowhere with dreams of being an actor to one of the best groups of the business, its name only will open you thousands of doors. Out there some of the biggest, meanest and deader-inside are waiting you to rip you the fuck apart, play by play, and look under a microscope for any mistake that you may have made. But this is looking the wrong way. You have to remember here that each step that brought you here was an accomplishment; you won several battles, and showed your excellency time and time again, enough to gather attention to yourself and to earn this big moment. If you perform the way you did all those times in the boot camp you will make out of here with a pat in the back and a Titan bio-coded to you. But if you show to those wrinkled empty souled man what you really are made of, the full extent of what you, Zack, can do I can guarantee that you'll be out of here straight as one of the best pilots that ever stood where you stand. So what you say? Are you ready to become a pilot?

\- Yes sir! – It was almost as spiting a hairball clogged in the throat. The moment that his words echoed in his ears, he felt his grip loosen to a more comfortable one and all the anxiety gone.

\- Then let's get this exam started.

\- Is the soldier ready for his Pilot Certification Exam? – A new voice came from the coms, metallic and robotic.

\- Yes – He answered

\- Checking pilot status: suit status all green. Jump kit status: jets all green, motion converters all green. Neural adapter status: all green. Initiating field exercise in… 3

2

1

The door opened with a jolt and the last of his worries were pushed to the back of his brain, as he ran across the room and out the door where his future awaited him.

* * *

Disclaimer:  
I do not own Titanfall or any characters of the game that might be here represented. This is a fan made story based on the universe of the game Titanfall.


End file.
